Warm as Snow
by Schtolteheim Reinbach III
Summary: The first Suikoden IV fanfic... and it's shounen-ai! Snow x Hero... please leave a review if you want more chapters, and the rating might go up!


Hello! ^_^ I think this is the first Suikoden IV fic that's ever been written, at least in english, but I could be wrong! ^_^ Probebly the first Suikoden IV yaoi fic, at least *____* Because the main character of Suikoden IV is really cute and he has a cute friend that he's the servant of, I decided to write fic about them! 

Since the hero doesn't have a name (and they haven't even given the flame champion a name yet for III, what are we supposed to do? -_-;;;;;;) I thought really hard about what I could call him in a fic, since Snow has to have something to call him, right? And so since it's a Japanese game I took the words in Japanese for "black" and "rose" because he's pretty but he has a really evil rune and wears black. Also it contrasts with "Snow" because snow = white, right? So the hero's name is Kurobara ^_^;;; 

Note: I do not know much about the game yet since it was only just announced so please forgive any mistakes! Character personalities as well are just sort of made up because we don't know about them yet. Gomen! ^_^;;; 

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Warm as Snow  
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Kurobara stood by the window of his small room, down in the servants' quarters, and watched the rain falling outside. A cold wind blew the thin curtains back into his room, and he sighed. The weather mirrored his emotions. It was cold, and he wished for the embrace of someone who had always seemed impossibly warm, given his name. 

But never again, Kurobara sighed - Snow had fought with him earlier, and even though it was not rare that they should fight now and then, it seemed more serious than usual. 

He looked down at the Rune of Punishment embedded in his right hand. It was all the rune's fault. 

_"How am I supposed to even look at you?" Snow shouted across his own large bedroom, on the upper level. "With that... thing in your hand! You don't deserve to have a true rune, when you're only my servant!" _

Tears streamed down Kurobara's cheeks. "Do you think I wanted it, Snow? Do you think I'd have taken it if there was any other choice?" 

"All men want power," Snow said, though his expression faltered a little bit. "At any cost. You're as selfish as anyone else - or are you somehow better?" 

As a noble, Snow had been raised to think in such a way. Kurobara knew this, but it still hurt to be accused of such things. Especially when... "Snow... don't you realize that it will kill me?" 

Snow turned his back, refusing to look into Kurobara's eyes. "Get out of my sight. And don't return to this room, except to gather my laundry like you're supposed to." 

Kurobara didn't want to leave. He never did want to leave Snow's room, really - it looked like him, it smelled of him. He'd come to realize a few years before that he wanted more from Snow than the room and board provided by his family - he dreamed of Snow's rosy lips against his and his hands touching him. Sometimes he took too long cleaning the room, just because what he was cleaning was Snow's doing, and even if it was just picking up clutter, he didn't want to go against anything Snow had done. 

And so if it was his Master's wish, then he had to leave. As he left, however, he gazed for one last long moment at the fine pale hair and broad shoulders, then reluctantly closed the door. 

He'd come back to his own room, having finished his duties for the day, and he had been standing by the window since. It would be all right, he thought, if the rune took his life, because if he had no hope of ever winning Snow's heart, his life was meaningless anyway. 

It was beginning to grow dark when a knock came on the door. He'd been so upset that he'd missed supper, so maybe one of the women from the kitchen had noticed he wasn't there and brought him something, he thought. 

Instead, he opened the door and his heart skipped a beat when he saw Snow standing there. He looked frustrated, too, and Kurobara felt his heart sink. 

"Kurobara..." 

"I'm sorry, Snow," he began to say, "for whatever I must have done wrong. I'll do better next time-" 

Snow shook his head. "You haven't done anything wrong." 

Kurobara watched him, puzzled, as Snow stepped into the small room and looked around curiously. Did Snow think he'd stolen something? If he thought that Kurobara had actually wanted the Rune of Punishment, he might think that he was really that greedy, and that upset Kurobara more than it angered him, to think that after all these years, they couldn't trust each other. 

Kurobara was confused by Snow's words when he finally spoke. "I came to explain." 

"Explain what?" 

Snow sighed. "What I said earlier... about your rune. I know what you said is true, about it... killing you. And about not wanting to see you again." 

"What?" Kurobara was growing more confused. 

"If the rune is going to kill you," Snow explained, going to the window where Kurobara had been standing earlier, "well... did you ever think about how it would affect me? I'd have to watch you die, and then live on. Do you know how much that would hurt?" 

Kurobara froze, touched and startled by Snow's words. "I never realized... that you cared so much." Could it possibly be... that Snow felt the same for him as he did for Snow? 

Snow shook his head slightly. "I didn't tell you to go away because I hate you. I told you that because... every time we see each other, for the last few years, I've thought about telling you just how much I care. And if you were going to die, how could I let myself love you? You'd only be taken away from me. It's better not to look at you at all, or think about you." 

Kurobara had completely lost track of what Snow was saying after one word, and he stammered it out now. "L-love?" 

"Yes," Snow sighed. "I've felt it for a long time, but was too afraid to say anything. I didn't want it to be something a master could order a servant to do. But as I said - if I would have to lose you, it's just as well I never said anything. I just didn't want you to think that I hated you." 

It was a long time before Kurobara could manage to get the words out. "Snow... I never realized. If I had..." 

"You'd have avoided me? You'd have done my bidding?" Snow laughed bitterly. 

He was still staring out the window, and Kurobara approached carefully from behind. "No," he said, and Snow looked down in surprise as Kurobara's arms reached around his waist, hugging him tightly. "I'd have done my own bidding... because I love you too." 

"Kurobara...!" Snow looked shocked and uncertain. 

"Please, Snow," Kurobara pleaded. "If I don't have long to live, I want to spend the rest of my life happy, with you. I guess that it's selfish, like you said, since you'd have to watch me die... but don't you think that just a few more years, even a few months of happiness would be worth it?" 

Snow hesitated, turning to face Kurobara, and Kurobara saw a single tear slide down Snow's pale cheek, shining in the dim light. "Now that I feel your arms around me," he whispered, "I think maybe you're right..." 

He put his arms around Kurobara as he lowered his head, bringing their lips together in a soft kiss, and Kurobara found that Snow was every bit as warm as he'd always imagined. 

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So how was that? If you like Snow and Kurobara, please review and I'll write more! ^_^ Thanks for reading! 


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